Chapter 21

As she approached the Malfoy table, Draco, without needing to turn around, seemed to know she was coming and swiftly rose and pulled her chair out for her. When she was seated he turned to her. He appeared some combination of worried and confused.

"What the hell was that?" He leaned in and asked in a low voice. "You go to the loo, Brown follows you, Pansy and Daphne follow her. Then Brown comes running back out here looking like she's been struck, and you come back all chummy with my former sister in law, and then, you go, what? Visit my ex?" He'd initially appeared somewhat distressed but by the end of his little speech he appeared to be struggling not to laugh.

"I went over there for Harry," she sniffed. "Astoria and I didn't speak. I'm not certain what we would even say to each other, we've only ever exchanged greetings."

"You're right, she wouldn't know what to say to you. You're like some kind of foreign species to her, Granger, and not because you're a muggleborn. You're strong and independent and that baffles her," he smiled fondly at her but then his lips curled and his expression turned mischievous. "Now tell me what you said to Brown to put that look on her face."

"Nothing that wasn't true," she answered with a sniff. "I'll give you the details later."

"And you and Daphne?"

"She wants to dance with you later."

"And she was, what, getting your permission?"

"Not exactly, she wants to talk to you without making a scene."

"Why?"

"She wants to ask you if she can see Scorpius."

"No!" He winced as soon as the word left his mouth and she could tell that he'd spoken much louder than he'd meant to. He lowered his voice again. "What do you think?"

"It's your decision, Draco."

"I want to know your opinion," he insisted.

She shrugged. "I think it couldn't hurt to hear her out. She seemed sincere and she's the only aunt he's ever going to have. Not to mention, you don't have to decide tonight. You can talk to her then think it over." She

He nodded and they finally turned back to their meal. The rest of dinner was just as uncomfortable as the first part had been; the elder Malfoys practically radiated disapproval. Draco's aunt and uncle were moderately more polite, but it seemed forced- which it probably was. And while Claire and Luc made a real effort to get to know her, the situation was otherwise too tense to be enjoyable. But Draco never flinched. He behaved as it his parents opinions didn't matter at all, and while she hated that for him, she took comfort in his resolve.

When she was finally, finally in his arms on the dance floor he kissed her temple.

"You are magnificent."

She chuckled. "I don't recall doing anything magnificent."

"Hermione, you just sat through a dinner where my parents were barely civil to you and you're still here. My aunt and uncle weren't much better, though they at least had the decency to seem somewhat embarrassed by it. Claire is mortified, by the way."

Hermione supposed Draco knew his family a lot better than she did, but she'd noticed none of that except for the fact that his parents were clearly displeased by their relationship.

"You're worth it, you and Scorpius," she assured him.

He pulled her close to his chest, probably more intimately than was strictly appropriate for such an occasion. However, despite the fact that she could feel eyes on them, she couldn't bring herself to care too much. She knew what they were thinking: it was one thing for her and Draco to attend this event together, but the way they were holding each other would leave nobody in any doubt that they were truly together.

To distract herself from the scrutiny she decided to amuse Draco. She turned her face towards him. "I remembered something funny earlier, when I was, uh, speaking to Lavender."

"I think the phrase you're looking for is dressing her down," he brushed his lips against her temple, "but tell me what you remembered."

"When Ron finally proposed, Lavender was determined to have an epic wedding, the likes of which would make all the society pages and be talked about for years afterward."

"Mmmm," he hummed non-comitally but she felt his lips curve against her temple and knew that he was interested.

"And there had been one wedding in the previous years that fit that bill exactly, and which she admired greatly. So, she used it as a type of...template for her own."

He went momentarily still and for a minute she was afraid that she had somehow hit a sore spot, but then he began to shake with laughter. "Are you telling me that Ron Weasley's wedding was planned based on mine?"

She just nodded.

"Does he know?"

"Anybody who entered the Burrow in the weeks they were planning it knew. If I thought about it, I could probably describe the flower arrangements at your reception. She had this enormous binder of press clippings and they just tended to spill out everywhere. The wedding was thrown together in somewhat of a hurry, you see."

"Yes, I knew that," he snickered.

"So, I may have reminded her of that, and of her rather obvious and pathetic schoolgirl crush on you."

"May I ask why it came to that? It was my impression that you've been holding your tongue all these years."

She sighed. "The long and short of it is that she accused me of gold digging, and you of using me."

"Hermione," he murmured.

"It didn't faze me for a second," she pulled back so that she could look at his face and she smiled. "Do you have any idea how empowering that was? How good you make me feel? Tonight was the first time that she couldn't touch me. I was just frustrated with it all and lost my temper."

"It was no more than she deserved."

She made a face. "I may have also told her that you didn't have to buy your way into bed with me, that you knew what you were doing, and- uh, that it wasn't the size of your vaults I was interested in."

He let out a startled laugh. "I am very impressive aren't I?" He waggled his eyebrows.

"Oh Merlin," she huffed, "I shouldn't have told you that. Your ego's never going to let me forget it."

At that moment the Zabini's approached them.

"May we cut in?" Blaise asked.

Draco, whose attention had been focused solely on Hermione looked rather startled when the other man spoke, but his expression turned resigned. "I'll let you borrow my witch for one dance, Zabini."

Hermione shot him a sharp look for his attitude- he'd agreed to this. He sighed but nodded, put a smile on his face and extended a hand to Daphne. Hermione allowed herself to be led into Blaise's arms

"Granger." He said in greeting with a smile as he settled a hand at her waist.

"Zabini." She smiled easily in return. He was a handsome man with a naturally charming manner that had set her immediately at ease.

"Blaise, please," his smile widened.

"Alright, but then it's Hermione," she agreed, all the while maintaining eye contact.

She was a powerful woman used to men flirting with her, they usually wanted something and it didn't serve her to appear to be a pushover in any way.

"Hermione," he demurred. "Thank you for allowing me to dance with the second most beautiful woman in the room."

If he had been less charming she would have rolled her eyes, and although she detected no artifice in his demeanor, that didn't mean she was going to pass up the opportunity to tease him. "Daphne was right, you are a terrible flirt."

"You aren't going to object to not being called the most beautiful woman in the room?" He asked, arching one eyebrow playfully.

"I would hope you think that your wife is the most beautiful," she quipped in return, "so unless you weren't talking about her, then no, I don't object."

He chuckled and then grew more serious. "Thank you for getting Malfoy to talk to Daphne. She's been trying to get up the courage to contact him for months. She's quite ashamed of her sister's actions. Hell, I'm ashamed of her sister's actions."

"Oh?" She questioned, careful to keep her tone as neutral as possible.

"I knew that she and Malfoy didn't have the kind of marriage that Daphne and I do. And I knew that she could be selfish, but I thought that she at least respected Draco, and that she would love any children that came along."

Her expression must have given her away because he laughed, but it sounded a little hollow.

"You're surprised I would tell you this?" He guessed.

"Well, you Slytherins aren't known for being the most upfront bunch, and you hardly know me."

"Your reputation as a good person precedes you though. I haven't been able to give Daphne our own child, I'll do what I must to ensure she at least gets to have a relationship with her nephew. If that means explaining myself to the fairest of the Golden Trio, so be it."

"It's Draco's decision."

"Are you telling me you don't have any influence over him?"

Hermione held his gaze for a moment and then just shrugged. Because Draco had already asked her advice on this topic, and the truth was she didn't want Blaise to stop talking. She was morbidly curious about Astoria.

"Scorpius came early, did you know that?"

Hermione just shook her head. She and Draco hadn't discussed anything surrounding Scorpius' birth, she sensed it was a sensitive subject.

"So, Daphne wasn't really emotionally prepared, and then we weren't even informed. My wife cried for days after she read the birth announcement in the paper. I don't blame Malfoy," he was quick to add. "His responsibility was to his son. I'm merely trying to explain why things were so difficult for her. She's not like Astoria, she didn't mean to ignore Scorpius."

"Why did…" Hermione trailed off, licking her lips.

"You can ask," Blaise encouraged.

"Why did Astoria do what she did? You just said yourself that you thought she would love any children that she had."

He sighed. "In the end, the thing she'd wanted all along was to be Lady Black, and I think when Malfoy started talking about divorce she just decided to wash her hands of the situation and embrace her freedom."

"Oh." It was the only thing Hermione could think to say.

The rest of the dance passed in silence and the moment the music began to change Draco was there, taking her back into his arms. Daphne smiled at her but her eyes were sad, Hermione assumed her own expression was similar.

"Everything okay?" She asked Draco quietly as he spun them away.

"I could cheerfully murder my ex-wife," he barked. But then he closed his eyes and let out a long breath. When he opened them again his expression was much more gentle. "But I recognize that her actions are neither Daphne's fault nor are they an indication of how she would treat Scorpius in the future. I'm going to have to give this some thought when I've calmed down."

"That's very level headed of you."

He snorted. "Shocking, I know. I'd also like your opinion but I don't want to talk about it now, I just want to dance with you."

"Of course."

She shared a few dances with other wizards: Harry, George, Neville, and Kingsley. She normally would have danced with some colleagues and more casual acquaintances as well, but they all seemed too intimidated by Draco to approach her.

When she finished her dance with George and he passed her back to Draco with a wink and a jaunty little bow, instead taking her into a more traditional hold, he cupped her upper arms in each of hands and guided them around his neck, then put his hands on her waist and drew her all the way against his body. "That's it I'm done sharing you for the night," he whispered into her ear.

His husky tone made her shudder, he chuckled and began to move again. But they weren't even really dancing anymore, just swaying to the music, relishing each other. Hermione felt eyes on them again, she looked up from his shoulder, and sure enough, a lot of people were looking their way, some gaping openly at their obvious intimacy, but there were three in particular who caught her attention.

Ron was an unnatural puce shade, he was glaring at her as forcefully as his wife had been earlier, but he made no attempt to confront her; perhaps it was Harry dancing with Pansy in between them that stopped him, maybe his father's lecture really had worked, or maybe he'd just had a little too much to drink and embarrassed himself at one of these functions a few too many times and had finally learned to hold his tongue. Hermione didn't care, she was just grateful for it.

Molly was also staring at them. But Arthur had her in a white knuckled grip and was speaking rapidly into her ear. Hermione would have to think of a subtle way to thank the man for his understanding, or at least his tolerance, later. She knew it couldn't have been easy for him, the bad blood between Weasleys and Malfoys was very real and went back a long time, he was truly a decent man. Hermione thought it ironic how angry Molly still was that she hadn't married Ron, she had never really approved of her, and would have hated having her as a daughter in law.

The last was Narcissa Malfoy, and to Hermione's surprise she wasn't glaring at her. Her expression certainly wasn't friendly but it wasn't hostile, if she had to describe it, Hermione probably would have called it curious. For a moment she allowed herself to hope that Andromeda was correct and that the older witch might come to accept their relationship if she saw that Draco was happy.

And, despite the fact that she hadn't so much as glanced their way all night, as far as Hermione knew, she still couldn't help but look around for Astoria. She finally located her, dancing with Blaise apparently completely oblivious to them.

Her attention was drawn back to Draco when he shifted one hand from her waist to the small of her back and pressed gently. "Can we get out of here soon?"

She tilted her head up and smiled against his jaw. "Do you have plans for us, Lord Black?"

"I might have. So, would it be alright it we left shortly?"

"Yes, I think we've put in our time."

"Good."

"So? Your plans?"

He trailed his hand up her spine. "I was very much hoping you'd indulge me in an early Christmas present."

"I'm assuming you had something specific in mind and weren't just hoping for me to give you one of your gifts early?"

He chuckled. "Do you know what made me decide to buy my house, pending your approval, of course?"

She reared back in surprise at that non-sequitur, but played along. "What?"

"I walked into the entrance hall and immediately imagined myself fucking you on that staircase."

A small sound escaped the back of her throat, part desire, part disbelief at his daring.

"I'm sorry if that's terribly crass," he murmured into her ear, not sounding sorry at all.

She took a deep breath, fisting his robes as the base of his neck. "It is a bit, but I find that I don't mind. But Draco, we'd only spent a few hours together by that point."

"Yes, but I already considered you one of the most beautiful and desirable women I'd ever met, and had, to some extent, since we were teenagers."

"Oh," she gasped. "I- really?"

"Not that I thought anything would, or could ever come of it, but I do have eyes."

"Oh," she repeated.

"And pretty much the only thing I've been able to think about all night is taking you home, peeling this dress off of your beautiful body, and splaying you out on that staircase."

"Why there?" She wondered. She wasn't insulted by the request, nor was she necessarily opposed to the idea, but it seemed an odd choice.

"I don't know," he flicked his tongue against one earlobe, "but I can't get the image out of my head. You can see it too, can't you Granger? I heard that little noise, the idea does something to you too."

She took another deep breath, bracing herself to withstand the growing well of desire within her so that she didn't embarrass herself in public, and decided that two could play this game. "It can be rather freeing to let you have your way."

He froze. "Fuuuuuuck," he let out on a long breath.

"To trust you with my pleasure," she continued, gazing up at him through her lashes in an intentionally coy expression.

"Right now?"

"Get us out of here my Lord."

He looked down at her, one eyebrow cocked. "Really?"

"I'm rather well acquainted with your ego," she placed her palm on his abdomen, just above where she felt his erection pressing against her own tummy, and slid it up his chest. "I've learned that sometimes it pays to stroke it."

"I suppose I was playing with fire myself," he admitted, spinning her in his arms and practically frog marching her towards the cloak check, though he somehow managed to do it with a considerable amount of grace. They didn't stop to speak to anybody, as rude as that may have been, but Hermione swore she could sense Pansy smirking from twenty feet away.

Draco apparated them back to his house. They landed in his floo room and he immediately began to walk her backwards towards the- as Draco, in a rather grandiose manner had named it- entrance hall.

He kept her pressed against his chest as he murmured a spell and she felt the buttons at her back coming undone, his magic brushed against her skin and she shuddered in his arms.

"Your magic feels so lovely," she told him between brushes of lips and clashes of tongue.

"I crave yours," he admitted in return, "the way you allow it to be free, to dance around us when we make love, it's just decadent. Nobody has ever opened themselves and been willing to share a connection like that with me."

"My pleasure."

When they reached the bottom of the staircase he released her and her loose gown started to fall down her body catching on her breasts where it had literally been stuck. She let out a startled laugh when she realized what had happened and reached to carefully peel the tape that had kept it secured, from her body.

He looked amused as he watched her actions, "I'd like for you to tell me about that, but later." But when the dress finally fell to the floor in a waterfall of gray silk and he took her in, clad only in heels and a lace thong, her breasts rising and falling rapidly as she panted with desire, his expression immediately turned predatory. She didn't hesitate to meet his eyes and square her shoulders proudly.

She moved to step out of her shoes but he stopped her. "Leave them on."

She smirked at the cliche request but nodded in acquiescence. He took her hands and led her over to the stairs, hooking his thumbs into the sides of her knickers and tugging until they too fell to the floor. Then he turned her and helped her lower herself onto the staircase. When she was seated he pressed her shoulders gently, encouraging her to lay back. As her back met the stairs she realized that Draco must have cast a cushioning charm, because the hardwood was as comfortable as a mattress.

Then he took her hands, guided them above her head and arranged them so that they were gripping the edge of one tread. "Keep them there," he ordered. "Good girl," he murmured when she nodded. He kissed her thoroughly as he took a knee in each hand and spread her legs as far as they would go, planting her heeled feet firmly on the bottom step and then abruptly stood up. "Don't move an inch." He stood there for the longest time perusing her body and she felt herself beginning to flush from her chest all the way to the top of her head, but she followed his commands.

When he'd apparently looked his fill he met her eyes, and with calm efficiency he began to disrobe, never once looking away from her. Hermione watched avidly as his body was revealed to her. She didn't think she would ever get tired of looking at him: pale skin, lean, taut muscle. She loved that she knew how his body felt as he moved within her, above her, beneath her; how his buttocks clenched in her hands as he thrust into her, the way his hips fit perfectly between hers. She even loved the way he smirked smugly everytime he caught her licking her lips as she took him in.

Suddenly he dropped to his knees between her legs, took one nipple into his mouth and gave it a hard suck. She cried out in surprised pleasure and as she heard her own voice echo throughout the space, she began to understand why Draco had fantasized about this.

"Are you ready for me sweetness?" He ran two fingers through her folds and sucked in a pleased breath at what he found there. "Oh, you are." He shifted to position himself at her entrance and slowly began to push inside of her. "Enjoying the view?"

Her eyes flew to his face and she realized that the angle at which her body was positioned was giving her the perfect view, and she had been enjoying it very much. She refused to be embarrassed. "Yes, now are you going to get on with it or not?" And as she expected he would when she taunted him, he slammed the rest of the way in with one hard thrust.

She closed her eyes and savored the deliciously full feeling as he began to move, she tightened her finger on the edge of the stair tread above her head and arched against him, seeking as much skin contact as possible. She sighed happily as her senses were assaulted; he wasn't being careful with her, and she loved that he was taking his own pleasure from her body. When she felt the scrape of teeth against the tip of her nose her eyes opened lazily.

"You still with me?" He wondered and she blinked at him stupidly until it occurred to her that she'd gone completely silent.

"Oh yes," she slurred. "I'm not exactly sure why this is so hot, but it really is."

He growled and hooked one of her legs over his shoulder. It brought him even deeper within her and she gasped. "I think you like being at my mercy. I think you like being in a public area of the house, ten feet from the front door, thirty feet from the floo. I think you've never let yourself go like this." He punctuated each statement with one particularly hard thrust. "Am I right?"

She found herself nodding vigorously without really thinking about it.

"You like it when I talk to you, too, don't you."

She nodded again.

He made a pleased sound. "Are you close?"

She squirmed beneath him, longing to reach for him. "Oh, Draco, oh yes. Can I please- let me touch you!"

"Well you have been good," he ghosted his lips along her jaw. "One hand, the other stays where it is."

His tone brokered no argument and she immediately tunneled the fingers of her right hand into his hair, her knuckles were actually sore from how fiercely she'd been gripping the stair. He reached between them and she startled herself when she shrieked as he began to stroke her. She threw her head back, it would have collided violently with the wood without the cushioning charm, and from what seemed like very far away she could hear him encouraging her to let go.

Her body went taut and then began to pulse with pleasure as light exploded behind her eyelids and she pressed his face into her neck, trusting him to keep her safe as she felt like she was coming apart. He sucked on her pulse point and she cried out again as she felt him coming inside of her, intensifying the waves of pleasure still crashing through her body.

They stayed like that, catching their breath for several minutes until Draco, with a regretful little groan, moved off of her and retrieved his wand from his discarded robes at the base of the staircase in order to clean them up. After efficiently casting a couple of spells he collapsed beside her and drew one of her legs over his hips. She caught his eyes as he arranged them, intending to tell him that she loved him, or that, that had been amazing. Instead, when she opened her mouth she giggled.

"Not quite the reaction I was going for Granger," he drawled.

That just made her laugh harder. He watched her, seemingly bemused but not angry, and held her as she rode out her fit of giggles. When she finally caught her breath she craned her neck and placed a kiss over his heart. "Thank you."

"Oh, any time." He squeezed her hip and though she wasn't looking at his face she could hear the leer in his voice.

"No," she laughed. "I mean yes. That was fantastic. But that's not what I was thanking you for."

"What then?" He stroked up and down her back and she instinctively pressed herself against him. "You do inspire me, love, but I still can't recover quite that fast."

She grinned to herself. Had anybody ever made her feel so carefree?

"Sex with you is fun," she attempted to explain. "I can laugh and tickle you without insulting you or turning you off. I can submit to you if I'm in the mood. And, in turn you're willing to let me order you around. It's just so refreshing. We're on a staircase right now, for Godric's sake. I love it so much, I love you so much."

He was quiet for a long time, but she wasn't worried, he'd tightened his arms around her and she could just tell that he was gathering his thoughts. "I know what you mean. I didn't have any idea that it could be like this, and after seeing Astoria tonight, especially, I'm just amazed that I have this with you."

"Does that mean this gift delivered?"

He barked out a laugh. "Absolutely."

"Well then, happy Christmas, Draco."

"Indeed," his voice vibrated through his chest and she reflexively squeezed his side in response. "Let me make sure I have the strength back in my legs, and then I'll take you upstairs and give you a present."

"Mmmmmm," she hummed happily. "Happy Christmas to me too."

Author's note: My eternal thanks to Weestarmeggie for her alpha/beta help. And to the rest of you, thank you for your support and a very happy 2019 to you all!